Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare, as well as invasions by Libya, before peace was restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which has sporadically flared up despite several peace agreements between the government and insurgents. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits and won another controversial election in 2006. Sporadic rebel campaigns continued throughout 2006 and 2007. The capital experienced a significant insurrection in early 2008, but has had no significant rebel threats since then, in part due to Chad's 2010 rapprochement with Sudan, which previously used Chadian rebels as proxies. In late 2015, the government imposed a state of emergency in the Lake Chad region following multiple attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram throughout the year; Boko Haram also launched several bombings in N'Djamena in mid-2015. DEBY in 2016 was reelected to his fifth term in an election that was peaceful but flawed. In December 2015, Chad completed a two-year rotation on the UN Security Council. In January 2017, DEBY completed a one-year term as Chairperson of the African Union Assembly.

Geography :: Chad

Location:

Central Africa, south of Libya

Geographic coordinates:

15 00 N, 19 00 E

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total:1.284 million sq km

land:1,259,200 sq km

water:24,800 sq km

country comparison to the world:
22

Area - comparative:

almost nine times the size of New York state; slightly more than three times the size of California

the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated

note 2: not long ago - geologically speaking - what is today the Sahara was green savannah teeming with wildlife; during the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a vibrant animal community, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelope lived there; the last remnant of the "Green Sahara" exists in the Lakes of Ounianga (oo-nee-ahn-ga) in northern Chad, a series of 18 interconnected freshwater, saline, and hypersaline lakes now protected as a World Heritage site

note 3: Lake Chad, the most significant water body in the Sahel, is a remnant of a former inland sea, paleolake Mega-Chad; at its greatest extent, sometime before 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the largest of four Saharan paleolakes that existed during the African Humid Period; it covered an area of about 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), roughly the size of today's Caspian Sea

Despite the start of oil production in 2003, 40% of Chad’s population lives below the poverty line. The population will continue to grow rapidly because of the country’s very high fertility rate and large youth cohort – more than 65% of the populace is under the age of 25 – although the mortality rate is high and life expectancy is low. Chad has the world’s third highest maternal mortality rate. Among the primary risk factors are poverty, anemia, rural habitation, high fertility, poor education, and a lack of access to family planning and obstetric care. Impoverished, uneducated adolescents living in rural areas are most affected. To improve women’s reproductive health and reduce fertility, Chad will need to increase women’s educational attainment, job participation, and knowledge of and access to family planning. Only about a quarter of women are literate, less than 5% use contraceptives, and more than 40% undergo genital cutting.

As of October 2017, more than 320,000 refugees from Sudan and more than 75,000 from the Central African Republic strain Chad’s limited resources and create tensions in host communities. Thousands of new refugees fled to Chad in 2013 to escape worsening violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. The large refugee populations are hesitant to return to their home countries because of continued instability. Chad was relatively stable in 2012 in comparison to other states in the region, but past fighting between government forces and opposition groups and inter-communal violence have left nearly 60,000 of its citizens displaced in the eastern part of the country.

This is the population pyramid for Chad. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:

total dependency ratio:100.2(2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:95.2(2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:4.9(2015 est.)

potential support ratio:20.3(2015 est.)

Median age:

total:15.8 years

male:15.3 years

female:16.3 years(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
226

Population growth rate:

3.23%(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
5

Birth rate:

43 births/1,000 population(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
4

Death rate:

10.5 deaths/1,000 population(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
26

Net migration rate:

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
104

Population distribution:

the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated

Urbanization:

urban population:23.1% of total population(2018)

rate of urbanization:3.88% annual rate of change(2015-20 est.)

Major urban areas - population:

1.323 million N'DJAMENA (capital)
(2018)

Sex ratio:

at birth:1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years:1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years:1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:0.92 male(s)/female

55-64 years:0.8 male(s)/female

65 years and over:0.76 male(s)/female

total population:0.98 male(s)/female(2018 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:

17.9 years(2014/15 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality rate:

856 deaths/100,000 live births(2015 est.)

country comparison to the world:
3

Infant mortality rate:

total:71.7 deaths/1,000 live births

male:77.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:65.4 deaths/1,000 live births(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
6

Life expectancy at birth:

total population:57.5 years

male:55.7 years

female:59.3 years(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
214

Total fertility rate:

5.9 children born/woman(2018 est.)

country comparison to the world:
4

Contraceptive prevalence rate:

5.7%(2014/15)

Health expenditures:

3.6% of GDP(2014)

country comparison to the world:
169

Physicians density:

0.05 physicians/1,000 population(2016)

Hospital bed density:

Drinking water source:

improved:urban:71.8% of population

rural:44.8% of population

total:50.8% of population

unimproved:urban:28.2% of population

rural:55.2% of population

total:49.2% of population(2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access:

improved:urban:31.4% of population(2015 est.)

rural:6.5% of population(2015 est.)

total:12.1% of population(2015 est.)

unimproved:urban:68.6% of population(2015 est.)

rural:93.5% of population(2015 est.)

total:87.9% of population(2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

1.3%(2017 est.)

country comparison to the world:
36

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

110,000(2017 est.)

country comparison to the world:
42

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

3,100(2017 est.)

country comparison to the world:
38

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk:
very high
(2016)

food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
(2016)

vectorborne diseases:
malaria and dengue fever
(2016)

water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)

animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)

respiratory diseases:
meningococcal meningitis
(2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:

6.1%(2016)

country comparison to the world:
170

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:

29.4%(2015)

country comparison to the world:
11

Education expenditures:

2.9% of GDP(2013)

country comparison to the world:
143

Literacy:

definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic
(2016 est.)

total population:22.3%

male:31.3%

female:14%(2016 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total:8 years

male:9 years

female:6 years(2014)

Government :: Chad

Country name:

conventional long form:
Republic of Chad

conventional short form:
Chad

local long form:
Republique du Tchad/Jumhuriyat Tshad

local short form:
Tchad/Tshad

etymology:
named for Lake Chad, which lies along the country's western border; the word "tsade" means "large body of water" or "lake" in several local native languages

note: the only country whose name is composed of a single syllable with a single vowel

history:
several previous; latest approved 30 April 2018 by the National Assembly, entered into force 4 May 2018

amendments:
proposed as a revision by the president of the republic after a Council of Ministers (cabinet) decision or by the National Assembly; approval for consideration of a revision requires at least three-fifths majority vote by the Assembly; passage requires approval by referendum or at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; amended 2005, 2013
(2018)

Legal system:

mixed legal system of civil and customary law

International law organization participation:

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:

citizenship by birth:
no

citizenship by descent only:
both parents must be citizens of Chad

dual citizenship recognized:
Chadian law does not address dual citizenship

head of government:
President Idriss DEBY Itno, Lt. Gen. (since 4 December 1990); prime minister position eliminated under the 2018 constitution

cabinet:
Council of Ministers

elections/appointments:
president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 10 April 2016 (next to be held in April 2021)

description:
unicameral National Assembly (188 seats; 163 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 25 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:
last held on 13 February and 6 May 2011 (next to be held NA)

note: the National Assembly mandate was extended to 2019, reportedly due to a lack of funding for the scheduled 2015 election

Judicial branch:

judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court chief justice selected by the president; councilors - 8 designated by the president and 7 by the speaker of the National Assembly; chief justice and councilors appointed for life; Constitutional Council judges - 2 appointed by the president and 1 by the speaker of the National Assembly; jurists - 3 each by the president and by the speaker of the National Assembly; judges appointed for 9-year terms

subordinate courts:
High Court of Justice; Courts of Appeal; tribunals; justices of the peace

Chadian Convention for Peace and Development or CTPD [Laoukein Kourayo MEDAR]Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarledjy YORONGAR]Framework of Popular Action for Solidarity and Unity of the Republic or CAP-SUR [Joseph Djimrangar DADNADJI]National Rally for Development and Progress or Viva-RNDP [Dr. Nouradine Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE]National Union for Democracy and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]Party for Liberty and Development or PLD [Ahmat ALHABO]Party for Unity and ReconciliationPatriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Idriss DEBY]Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Mahamat Allahou TAHER]RNDT/Le Reveil [Albert Pahimi PADACKE]Social Democratic Party for a Change-over of Power or PDSA [Malloum YOBODA]Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Felix Romadoumngar NIALBE]

three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and red; the flag combines the blue and red French (former colonial) colors with the red and yellow (gold) of the Pan-African colors; blue symbolizes the sky, hope, and the south of the country, which is relatively well-watered; gold represents the sun, as well as the desert in the north of the country; red stands for progress, unity, and sacrifice

note: almost identical to the flag of Romania but with a darker shade of blue; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design based on the flag of France

National symbol(s):

goat (north), lion (south); national colors: blue, yellow, red

National anthem:

name:
"La Tchadienne" (The Chadian)

lyrics/music:
Louis GIDROL and his students/Paul VILLARD

note: adopted 1960

Economy :: Chad

Economy - overview:

Chad’s landlocked location results in high transportation costs for imported goods and dependence on neighboring countries. Oil and agriculture are mainstays of Chad’s economy. Oil provides about 60% of export revenues, while cotton, cattle, livestock, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's non-oil export earnings. The services sector contributes less than one-third of GDP and has attracted foreign investment mostly through telecommunications and banking.

Nearly all of Chad’s fuel is provided by one domestic refinery, and unanticipated shutdowns occasionally result in shortages. The country regulates the price of domestic fuel, providing an incentive for black market sales.

Although high oil prices and strong local harvests supported the economy in the past, low oil prices now stress Chad’s fiscal position and have resulted in significant government cutbacks. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most of its public and private sector investment. Investment in Chad is difficult due to its limited infrastructure, lack of trained workers, extensive government bureaucracy, and corruption. Chad obtained a three-year extended credit facility from the IMF in 2014 and was granted debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative in April 2015.

In 2018, economic policy will be driven by efforts that started in 2016 to reverse the recession and to repair damage to public finances and exports. The government is implementing an emergency action plan to counterbalance the drop in oil revenue and to diversify the economy. Chad’s national development plan (NDP) cost just over $9 billion with a financing gap of $6.7 billion. The NDP emphasized the importance of private sector participation in Chad’s development, as well as the need to improve the business environment, particularly in priority sectors such as mining and agriculture.

The Government of Chad reached a deal with Glencore and four other banks on the restructuring of a $1.45 billion oil-backed loan in February 2018, after a long negotiation. The new terms include an extension of the maturity to 2030 from 2022, a two-year grace period on principal repayments, and a lower interest rate of the London Inter-bank Offer Rate (Libor) plus 2% - down from Libor plus 7.5%. The original Glencore loan was to be repaid with crude oil assets, however, Chad's oil sales were hit by the downturn in the price of oil. Chad had secured a $312 million credit from the IMF in June 2017, but release of those funds hinged on restructuring the Glencore debt. Chad had already cut public spending to try to meet the terms of the IMF program, but that prompted strikes and protests in a country where nearly 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. Multinational partners, such as the African Development Bank, the EU, and the World Bank are likely to continue budget support in 2018, but Chad will remain at high debt risk, given its dependence on oil revenue and pressure to spend on subsidies and security.

general assessment:
inadequate system of radio telephone communication stations with high maintenance costs and low telephone density; Chad remains one of the least developed on the African continent, telecom infrastructure is particularly low, with penetration rates in all sectors - fixed, mobile and internet -well below African averages

domestic:
fixed-line connections less than 1 per 100 persons, with mobile-cellular subscribership base of about 52 per 100 persons

20 is the legal minimum age for compulsory military service, with a 3-year service obligation; 18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary service; no minimum age restriction for volunteers with consent from a parent or guardian; women are subject to 1 year of compulsory military or civic service at age 21; while provisions for military service have not been repealed, they have never been fully implemented
(2015)

Terrorism :: Chad

Terrorist groups - foreign based:

Boko Haram:aim(s): establish an Islamic caliphate across Africaarea(s) of operation: conducts kidnappings, bombings, and assaults, including in the capital, N'Djamenanote: violently opposes any political or social activity associated with Western society, including voting, attending secular schools, and wearing Western dress
(April 2018)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)-West Africa:aim(s): implement ISIS's strict interpretation of Sharia; replace the Nigerian Government with an Islamic statearea(s) of operation: based primarily in Northeast Nigeria along the border with Niger, with its largest presence in northeast Nigeria and the Lake Chad region; targets primarily regional military installations
(April 2018)

Transnational Issues :: Chad

Disputes - international:

since 2003, ad hoc armed militia groups and the Sudanese military have driven hundreds of thousands of Darfur residents into Chad; Chad wishes to be a helpful mediator in resolving the Darfur conflict, and in 2010 established a joint border monitoring force with Sudan, which has helped to reduce cross-border banditry and violence; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries